car interest rates 14

It is important to realize that your interest rate is not the only factor that affects the total amount of interest charge you pay for your car loan. Your car loan term length plays a major role in how much you pay for your car no matter what interest rate you have. As a general rule, for the same interest rate, the longer your term length the more your cumulative interest charge will be.

Most car loans use simple interest, a type of interest of which the interest charge is calculated only on the principal (the amount owed on the loan). Simple interest does not compound on interest, which generally saves a borrower money.

In general, new-car loan rates are better than used-car rates. Usually, only new cars qualify for zero-percent financing, though some automakers occasionally push certified pre-owned cars with zero-percent offers. In general, the older the car is, the higher the interest rate is.

The higher rate will be your APR. The APR accounts for the total finance charge you pay on your loan in a given year. The finance charge is made up of both your interest charges and your prepaid finance charges, which are various charges rolled into your loan amount that can include different loan fees and the interest that accumulates to the day of your first loan payment. Even though your prepaid finance charges are included in your loan principal and so are indeed “prepaid,” you still pay for those fees with your car payments over the course of your loan, making the prepaid charges more like interest charges. Remember, just because your APR is higher than the interest rate quoted to you does not indicate that your lender has changed the loan terms it is offering you.

However, simple interest does not mean that every time you make a payment on your loan that you pay equal amounts of interest and principal. Instead, car loans are paid down via amortization, meaning you pay more interest at the beginning of your car loan than at the end.

Notice that your tax rate will not change the interest rate you will owe on your loan. However, the amount of tax you must borrower to pay for your taxes will be included in the amount you borrow from the lender, and you have to pay interest on the full amount you borrow. Your taxes do not increase your interest rate, but they do increase the loan balance on which your interest charges are based.

Finally, don't rule out financing a car at the dealership. Only a dealer can offer new-car finance rates from the automaker; those rates are sometimes the lowest available. Also, if you've taken our advice but had little success with other loan sources, a dealership might be more willing to make financing accommodations if you're buying one of its cars, especially a used one. If the dealership that denied you the first time was smaller, a larger one might have more tolerance for risk or have good relationships with more lenders.

If you cannot afford to pay extra each month for you car loan, but would still like to pay less for your car in the long run and/or reduce your monthly payments, you may want to consider refinancing your car. If you refinance to a lower interest rate, you may pay significantly less for your car loan.

Loan terms: Some lenders offer loans for up to 84 months. However, it’s best to pay off a car loan quickly since cars depreciate rapidly. Owing more on the loan than the car is worth is called being “underwater” or “upside down,” which is a risky financial situation. Also, the best interest rates are available for shorter loan terms. NerdWallet recommends 60 months for new cars and 36 months for used cars.

When you take on a car loan to buy a car, your lender purchases the car for you and allows you to pay it back over a period of years. Essentially, the lender gives you the service of using its money, and in exchange you compensate the lender for its services by paying interest.

This tool is for illustrative purposes and we have provided this solely as a convenience for you to estimate payments based on your assumptions for term, rate, and loan amount. Your actual payments may differ from the payments provided by this calculator as a result of using different loan amounts, car value, terms, and rates based on our pricing and underwriting policies and procedures. You will receive your actual rate once you have applied for a loan. We are not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of the information provided by this calculator, and we have no obligation to match your terms to the terms provided by this calculator. Wells Fargo auto loans are not available in Louisiana. Seventy-five percent of approved applicants qualified for this rate and payment range based on data from October 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016. To qualify for a customer relationship discount, you must maintain a qualifying Wells Fargo consumer checking account and make automatic payments from a Wells Fargo deposit account. Only one relationship discount may be applied per application. Auto loans obtained from a dealership (where the dealer is the lender) do not qualify for the relationship discount. To learn which accounts qualify for the discount, please consult a Wells Fargo banker. If automatic payments are not selected, or are canceled for any reason at any time after account opening, the interest rate and the corresponding monthly payment may increase. Wells Fargo Auto Finance does not make loans for educational purposes. If you need funds for educational purposes, call Wells Fargo Education Financial Services at 1-800-378-5526.

Car dealers borrow money at wholesale interest rates, which they mark up and pass on to you. Because the dealer's rate is lower, the rate you get may be no higher than one you arranged yourself. Still, the only way to make sure of this is to know what your best rate is before you get to the dealership.

Please note, while these equations are helpful for understanding these two rates, they do not necessarily reflect how you would calculate the two rates. However, you can read much more about how APR works here, including how to use the above equations to correctly estimate your note rate or APR.

We make it easy to choose an auto loan by offering competitive rates, flexible terms, and outstanding service. Customers who qualified for our lowest rates have an excellent credit history and a loan amount that’s greater than $22,000 and less than 85% of the cars value. The APR includes a relationship discount of 0.25%, which you may qualify for if you have a Wells Fargo checking account and maintain automatic payments.

While shopping for car loans, credit cards, and other financial services, you have probably come across the term APR. APR stands for “Annual Percentage Rate.” It is the annual rate of finance charge you pay for your loan or credit line. For car loans, APR is the rate you pay that accounts for your interest charges plus all other fees you have to pay to get your loan.

It’s smart to shop for the right auto loan, with the lowest interest rate, before you buy your next car. This puts you in a stronger negotiating position and saves you money over the life of your car loan.

Paying a debt like a car loan early is generally a good thing, because you end up paying less interest charges. However, you should always consider your entire financial situation before choosing to make unscheduled payments. Obviously, you need to have the extra cash to make such a payment, but even if you do, you have to ask yourself if you have better uses for that extra money. For example, if you owe money on a credit card, then you are probably better off paying down that credit card’s balance before making an unscheduled car loan payment. Ultimately, you should consider carefully if an accelerated payoff makes sense for you.

Rate shopping: Applying to several lenders helps you find the most competitive interest rate. However, it can lead to your being contacted by multiple lenders or dealers, especially if you use a service that compares offers for you (such as myAutoloan). If you’re worried about getting overwhelmed by calls and emails, create a new email account and get a free Google Voice phone number that you can check separately. Also check the loan terms that your bank or credit union offers. Their rates can be competitive with those of online lenders.

Preapproval streamlines the negotiation process because you can sidestep the car salesman’s favorite tactic: the monthly payment game. If you negotiate based on a monthly payment, it’s easy to lose sight of the real price of the car. But when you’re preapproved, you become a “cash buyer.” That means you can concentrate on negotiating only the price when shopping for a new car.